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Historical Explorations: Mozi
Mozi (Mo Di) and the first writing on pinhole photography.
Who was Mozi?
Who was Mozi, or Master Mo? Mo Zi, whose original name was Mo Di or Mo Ti, was a Chinese philosopher who was a fierce critic of Confucius, or Kong Zi (Master Kong). Kong Zi lived between 551 BCE and 479 BCE, and Mo Zi lived between 468 BCE and 376 BCE. These dates are not certain, but they are the most widely accepted dates for the lives of these two ancient philosophers.
Mo Zi lived during the Warring States period, which followed the Spring and Autumn period. These were turbulent times and probably influenced the differing philosophies of Kong Zi and Mo Zi.
Most sources indicate that Mozi was born in the State of Lu, in modern-day Shandong. Others say he was born in territory controlled by the Song Dynasty.
Most accounts indicate he was born into the peasant class. Others say he was between the peasant class and the middle class, most likely of the artisan class. In Fung Yu-Lan’s book, ‘A Short History of Chinese Philosophy,’ the later Mohists (followers of Mozi) appear to have written that he belonged to the ‘warrior’ or ‘knight-errant’ class. The word Fung Yu-Lan uses is ‘hsieh’ or ‘yu hsieh,’ which sounds suspiciously like a Cantonese spelling but is the spelling used in the earlier Wade-Giles method of…
